Sir Richard Branson's recreational space travel company, Virgin Galactic, is real and it's really happening, with flights expected to happen next year. (They were supposed to take off in 2010 and then in 2013 but this is space travel so we expect some delays.)

Yet while we wait for the first guests to pay $200,000 to blast off into space, here is a piece of hotel news we can get excited about right now--Virgin Galactic has selected The Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, a Heritage Hotel, to be the "official preferred Virgin Galactic hotel and resort. Previously, Virgin Galactic had hoped to partner with a luxury brand to build a new resort but this is much easier.

The Encanto hotel is located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, about 60 miles from Spaceport America, where the Virgin Galactic flights will take off. And already, the hotel has begun to undergo some renovations to accommodate the high-flying guests.